MEDIA RELEASE: 18 September 2014

Kapiti Run for Youth right behind Youth Quest

Youth Quest! Who are they? They are a mentoring programme that works with passion to help young Kapiti boys get on the right track and stay there. “80% of our funding comes from private sources so we are constantly working with groups and individuals to raise the cash we need to keep doing the work we do,” says Terry Poko.

“When boys are mentored we are taking the approach that it is about a more experienced person guiding and motivating a less experienced person in their life skills and decisions,” says Darcy Hata.

“We are extremely grateful that Web Genius chose our organisation to do give back to the Kapiti community. All sponsorship that will come from Kapiti Run for Youth will be ploughed in to our two key programmes, Operations and Mentoring,” says Terry.

The Operations Programme includes a bush camp phase followed by a classroom phase, dealing with issues like managing stress and anger, drug and addiction management, personal presentation and communication, leadership and team building, work experience and a graduation ceremony. The programme runs for six weeks and is followed by 12 months of mentoring.

The Mentoring Programme allocates a Mentor to each boy who walks along-side them, raises their life aspirations and helps them access the services required to achieve these aspirations.

Both Terry and Darcy have their hearts and minds in the right places so if you see them around, say “hi” as they are doing real stuff to help our young boys be great men in our community for the future. Their work is hard and often goes unseen – this is why Web Genius took the opportunity back in 2012 to establish Kapiti Run for Youth with Youth Quest as the key benefactor.

Terry and Darcy love graduation night as that is when they can really sit back and enjoy the practical difference they are making in a boy’s life. “All of our boys are different, often humble yet very proud of

their achievements while attending our programmes. Their families and friends also see the positive difference so it is a win-in all round,” says Darcy.

“We want to see the beach between MacLean Park and Raumati Beach really packed with runners and walkers having fun on our beautiful Kapiti Coast while raising money for Kapiti youth. We raised a whopping $14,000 last year and are motivated to do more than that this year”, says Richard Calkin of Web Genius.

You can register either individually or a group to complete the 12km walk, 6km walk, 12km run or the 6km run. The date for this event is Sunday 2 November 2014 with the first event starting at 10am. There is a $20 qualifying fee that can be raised through sponsorship. The Youth Quest team of boys and mentors will be there participating on the day. Join us, register today on our web site,www.kapitirunforyouth.co.nz

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